Clinical Coder - Classification Types

Classification Types

Clinical coders may use many different classifications, which fall into two main groupings: statistical classifications and nomenclatures.

  • A statistical classification brings together similar clinical concepts and groups them into one category. This allows the number of categories to be limited so that the classification does not become too big. An example of this is in ICD-10 at code I47.1. The code title (rubric) is Supraventricular tachycardia. However, there are several other clinical concepts that are also classified here. Amongst them are paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, paroxysmal junctional tachycardia, auricular tachycardia and nodal tachycardia.
  • In a nomenclature there is a separate listing and code for every clinical concept. So, in the example in the previous paragraph, each of the tachycardia listed would have its own code. This makes nomenclatures unwieldy for compiling health statistics.

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